


Mirror Mirror

by sunflower1343



Category: Finder no Hyouteki | Finder Series
Genre: M/M, Weirdness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-14
Updated: 2015-07-14
Packaged: 2018-04-09 09:01:25
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,107
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4342331
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunflower1343/pseuds/sunflower1343
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Takaba sees why facing reality is the better option.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Mirror Mirror

**Author's Note:**

> This one is strange, maybe a little bit down the rabbit hole and a little bit of magic realism. I have no idea where it came from, except it was related to some heavy duty pain meds I once took. Written Sep 2006. Oh, and either cactuses or cacti is acceptable. ;P
> 
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~

Akihito awoke out of a deep sleep to find a pig sitting at the end of his bed. That in and of itself, while troubling, could be dealt with. But this pig was a shade of purple that he'd only seen in lilacs. And he was sitting upright with his chubby lilac legs crossed. Smoking.

The pig held the cigarette daintily between his two big toes, examining it between puffs. Akihito wondered how he had managed to light it.

The pig spoke while continuing to stare at his cigarette. "I would mention that it's rude to stare as you're doing, but it's obvious you're new to this place. Perhaps that's some sort of friendly custom where you come from?"

Akihito shook his head. "No. I mean, you're on my bed. I'm where I come from. You're the one out of place."

The pig turned his head slightly and looked him up and down. "Am I?" He tapped the cigarette and a clump of ashes fell to the bed.

"Hey! Cut it out! I can't afford –" The clump turned to a long curly apple peel as soon as it touched the blanket. The pig leaned over and picked it up, then began munching on one end.

Akihito screwed his face up. "That's disgusting."

"That I eat off your bed? Or that I recycle?" The pig shrugged. "I'm a pig. It's what I do. Some might find you disgusting."

"Me? You're the one eating off beds. I was just sleeping like a normal person." Akihito watched, revolted but fascinated as the pig sucked the rest of the apple peel up like a long wet worm.

The pig stared at him, chewing carefully, then swallowed. "Normal? Maybe you should look in the mirror. Oh, but wait, you don't have mirrors around here any more."

Akihito hadn't expected to be stabbed in the heart by a pig first thing in the morning. He worked hard at appearing normal, though he knew was anything but. Nonetheless he defended himself. "Normalcy is in the eye of the beholder."

"Letting yourself behold much these days?" The pig drew on his cigarette again, then held it over the floor and tapped it, letting the ashes drift down to the hard wood. As they touched they turned into several tiny cactuses holding miniature mariachi instruments, which they promptly began playing. 

Akihito closed his gaping mouth with a snap, then tore his gaze from the offending plants to focus on the pig again. "Make them stop! That's horrible!"

The pig's eyes widened as he returned Akihito's glare with a bland look. "You make them. I'm not the one providing the floor show."

_What the hell did that mean? Know-it-all pig. Bastard Pig. Wait a minute. I'm talking to a pig?_

Asami had to have drugged him last night. He snatched his phone off the nightstand and dialed the bastard's number. It was answered almost immediately.

"Akihito. How unexpected. Miss me already?"

"What the hell did you give me last night?"

He heard amusement in the answer. "I'm surprised you forgot, after taking it for two hours. It was long and thick and hard. Do you want more to remind you?"

"Not that! What kinds of drugs? They're horrible. What can I take to make it stop?"

There was a silence at the other end of the line.

"Answer me dammit!"

"What's happening to you?" 

That couldn't be concern.

"I'm hallucinating. What was it, acid? Stop playing that goddamned music!" The last was yelled to the cactuses, as he jumped from the bed and tried to kick them. They scattered across the floor like mice before a cat and hid behind pieces of furniture, still playing while peeking out.

"Are you there? Asami!"

He heard muffled speaking, as if Asami had his hand over the receiver, then his voice came back clearly. 

"I'm here. Akihito, I didn't give you any drugs last night. I've not given you any drugs since the first time. I'm sure you don't want to hear that you actually may have enjoyed the sex all by yourself, and yet it's true."

Akihito stood in the middle of his apartment, his body heating to memories of the previous night. _It's not real. None of this is real._

He turned his head to stare at the pig, who stubbed his cigarette out on Akihito's wall, at which point it turned into a small phoenix that flew about trying to escape the apartment, leaving small burn marks wherever it touched.

He shook his head. "That can't be true. Because if that's true then this is real and I'm going insane. Tell me it's not real. Tell me Asami." He was breathing too quickly, and he fell to his knees, dizzy.

"I refuse to lie to you Akihito. What's the problem? Won't your own lies suffice this time? They've done so before. Or are they finally coming back to haunt you?"

"Haunt me?" He looked at the cactuses and their gaudy costumes. He looked at the tiny phoenix, trying to nest in a shirt of his that had been dropped on the floor and which was slowly turning to ash. He looked at the lilac pig, already smoking another cigarette. He felt vaguely disappointed that he hadn't seen him light it. 

The pig looked at him curiously. "Boo?"

 _They're haunting me?_ No. He knew what was real. He knew the difference between truth and lies. 

A miniature cactus ran by and hit his big toe with some maracas. 

_OK, maybe it's not all that clear this morning._ Maybe he did need to take a good look at himself. 

"I need a mirror."

"A what?" Asami sounded like he was mumbling around a cigarette.

"A mirror. I need to find a mirror. I need to see myself."

After another pause he heard a sigh across the phone line. "Wait there. I'm already on my way. I'll bring you one." Asami hung up.

The music stopped.

He looked around in surprise. The little musicians were gone.

The pig was still there.

"What happened? Where did they go?"

The pig shrugged its shoulders. "They probably had another floor show somewhere. Would you like some more? I can get some lounge lizards who play the xylophone and bongos."

"No! No more floor shows."

"Really? They all say that. But do you really mean it?" He waved his foreleg toward the wall behind Akihito. "Perhaps you would like to try the buffet? The food is addictive." 

Akihito turned to see a table laden with foods from around the world. He didn't believe it was real but it looked and smelled real, so he decided it might taste real too and thought he may as well eat while he waited for Asami. He loaded a plate with some scrambled eggs and fresh fruit and toast and sat on his bed to dig in. He spit the first bite of eggs out. He gingerly tried a slice of melon, and spit that too. "The cook is terrible. It's all bitter."

"To each his own. Me, I can't live without this stuff." The pig took the plate and snorting, gobbled it all down in under a minute. Akihito spent the remainder of his time watching as the pig returned to the buffet again and again, eating more than should be possible of the horrible food.

He didn't understand what was happening to him. But at least Asami was on the way. Then maybe some normality would be introduced into the situation. He blinked. It was odd, seeing Asami as something right and normal.

The pig swore.

"What's wrong?"

"The buffet is gone. And here I thought I had a chance at a good meal for once. This place had a lot of promise."

There was a knock on his door and he bounded off the bed to answer it. 

"Asami?" 

It was.

He threw his arms around the man, then pulled back and looked up at startled eyes looking down into his, eyes filled with pleasure and concern, quickly replaced by lust and amusement. The last two he was used to. Asami always saw him like that, amusing and desirable. The first two were new though. 

Or were they? If he really wanted to be honest about it, and for once he did, maybe they'd been there for a while now. Maybe he'd just not let himself see, because that would have made him more accepting of something he'd rather deny. But he wasn't so sure now. Asami's eyes, they almost made him feel good about himself. He kind of liked it, being seen that way. Maybe that wasn't such a bad state of normal to be in.

Asami's eyebrows were starting to draw together in the face of this silent inspection.

Akihito stepped back from Asami's embrace. "First. A stupid question. Do you see anyone else here?"

Asami's eyes narrowed, then he glanced around the small place. "Is that some kind of joke?"

Akihito shook his head. "Just answer. Do you see any... one, for instance, sitting on the bed?" He waved his hand toward the foot of the bed. Which was empty. "Wait. Where did he go?"

Asami took a step closer and yanked him against his hard body. His voice was dangerously smooth. "He? On your bed? Is there something you want to tell me?"

Akihito strained his body around in Asami's grasp to stare at the covers. "No. No, you don't get it. He was sitting right there. All purple. He was a pig. A smoking pig."

"Your taste in men disappoints me. If you're going to have an affair, at least choose someone who isn't a pig." He pulled Akihito back around to face him.

Akihito tried to shake him off. "No! A real pig. Who spoke to me. With cactuses that played awful music."

"Akihito, you didn't get much sleep last night. Do you need to lie down?"

"And a phoenix... wait!" Akihito jerked his arms free and picked up the smoldering bundle on the floor. He parted the folds of the shirt to see the little golden bird sleeping there. He held it out to Asami. "See? Can you see her?" 

The bird woke and flew to his shoulder. She chirruped and rubbed her beak against his cheek softly. It didn't burn at all, but gave a warm glow that spread through his body. "Isn't it beautiful Asami?" he asked softly. He looked up to see an answering glow in Asami's eyes, though he wasn't looking at the bird. 

"Ah." 

His eyes widened, taking in the fully grown phoenix perched on Asami's shoulder, its golden eyes shining with an inner fire. _How...?_

"How long have you had that?"

"Had what?"

The large bird gently brushed a wing against Akihito's lips, sealing them for a moment, making them burn. It flew to one of his shelves and perched on top, calling softly. The tiny bird on his shoulder chirped sweetly and took to the air, teasing the larger bird before coming to rest under one of its large wings.

Akihito smiled. "Nothing. Never mind."

Asami closed the distance between them, and Akihito let himself be pushed down onto the bed, pulling really, if truth be told, because his desire was strong and he really was trying to let truth be told. He wanted honesty, not a floor show, not illusions living on lies, and if that meant seeing the truth of himself, then by God he would.

As Asami's mouth began to lower to his their eyes met. Asami paused. "Are you alright now?"

Akihito looked up into Asami's eyes and thought he just might be. "Yes."

"I'm going to make sure you stay in bed all day. No pigs allowed."

"I might be as greedy as one."

Asami's eyebrows went up. "What's gotten into you? Last night you fought me with everything you had, same as usual, before caving. This morning you seem eager."

"Are you disappointed?"

"No. Just puzzled."

"I guess you could say I saw our relationship in a new light. It's not all that bad, what's between us. I even kind of like it, what I see in my mirror."

"I didn't give you your mirror yet. One of my men will be here with it soon. So what mirror... Wait. No. Don't tell me. It's an imaginary mirror the pig brought that I can't see."

Akihito laughed and lifted his lips for a kiss, and saw himself reflected in the eyes of the man above him. Not imaginary. Maybe even a little too honest at times. But that was the only mirror he needed. 

 

~end~


End file.
